I’ve used Photoshop since very early versions, and there are many things it does better than any other image editing application. However, awesome power always comes at a price. Photoshop is one of the most complicated applications to do simple color corrections and other basic photo improvement tasks. The learning curve is steep, and so is the price ($700). This is why Adobe and others make simpler versions of their flagship applications for less money. Don’t get me going on Gimp, I can’t get past the ugly X11 interface. May as well be a Java app.
iPhoto can do very basic photo editing, mostly color balance, levels, etc., but Pixelmator really shines at these tasks for a very reasonable price ($60). The interface is unique, and works quite well. Tools are well laid out and intuitive, and you can do many of the basic functions of Photoshop without having to do a bootcamp training marathon to figure it out.
Graphic arts professionals need the power of Photoshop; for the rest of us, Pixelmator is a better fit.
Looks like you can get it both from Pixelmator and Smith Micro.
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